MLB.com's Carrie Muskat has been covering Major League Baseball since 1981 and is the author of "Banks to Sandberg to Grace: Five Decades of Love and Frustration with the Cubs." You can follow her on Twitter @CarrieMuskat. Here, she blogs about the Cubs.

7/27 Lilly update & quick hits

Ted Lilly underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee Monday, and the debridement procedure went well. He was placed on the disabled list because of inflammation in his left shoulder, and the Cubs decided to take advantage of the time off and have Lilly undergo the knee surgery as well. He’s expected back in mid August.

* Is there any way Derrek Lee can avoid aggravating his neck sliding into bases? Lou Piniella joked that Lee could hit more home runs. “He’s got to be a little careful with the sliding,” Piniella said.

* When Ryan Dempster returns to the Cubs rotation on Tuesday, he’ll be limited to about 80 pitches. It’ll be Dempster’s first start since July 2. The right-hander broke a bone in his right big toe on July 5.

* Geovany Soto will likely play a few Minor League games before he’s activated. Soto began taking batting practice this weekend.

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